Bandwidth Marketplace

Cascade Bandwidth Marketplace

TL;DR The Cascade Bandwidth Marketplace is a B2B exchange for buyers and sellers of Solana transaction bandwidth. It is not intended for individual users. Individuals should look to their RPC provider(s) for high-quality service.

Solving Transaction Delivery Problems

Put a new server on the Internet, and it will be attacked within minutes. Make that server a validator on a blockchain, and robots will abuse it with a profit motive. Given enough abuse, validators will become overloaded, and the blockchain will become unusable. One of the biggest challenges in the blockchain space is managing validator network traffic for a better user experience.

The Solana blockchain improves the user experience by providing multiple pathways for transaction (“TX”) delivery. More delivery options make the whole system more robust. Solana TX routes include public ports on validators, Jito Labs’ auctions, and the inelegantly named Stake-Weighted Quality of Service (“SWQoS”) to deliver transactions through staked validators.

Fees and features vary by route. The public ports are free but subject to network congestion. Jito bidders pay extra fees, AKA “tips,” to win auctions and write bundles of TXs at the beginning of every block. With SWQoS, Validators offer reserved TX bandwidth for a fee so that users can bypass congestion on the public ports.

Blockchain RPC providers and their users would like to reserve bandwidth to deliver TXs faster. Blockchain validators would like to sell bandwidth up to a limit determined by their stake weight. The Cascade Marketplace brings buyers and sellers together to set a fair clearing price through regular auctions. After the auction, bandwidth is delivered through Cascade’s network of affiliated validators.

TX Bandwidth

Transaction Bandwidth is measured in packets per second (“PPS”), where one packet represents one transaction or a transaction retry. Transaction Bandwidth is reserved in a given region for one Solana epoch. e.g., one hundred (100) PPS for one epoch to originate from Asia. Bursts of packets over purchased bandwidth will be dropped.

Marketplace Activity

Cascade Marketplace is a competitive over-the-counter (“OTC”) marketplace where Bidders indicate their desired bandwidth, region, and price for one epoch. Bandwidth is awarded according to the highest bids until all available bandwidth is sold. Lot sizes are 100 PPS. The minimum bid price is 0.1 SOL per 100 PPS per Epoch. Triton One reserves the right to set a maximum lot size to prevent abuse. After the auction is concluded, all winners will pay the lowest winning price. e.g. each winner pays the “Floor Price” and has equal priority within the network. Each auction is effective for the second epoch after the end of the auction in the current epoch. For example, the results of an auction held in Epoch 101 will take effect in Epoch 103. Participation in the Bandwidth Marketplace is further subject to terms to be posted on https://www.triton.one.

Future iterations of the marketplace will move towards automated auction & delivery. We want to use the OTC model as a starting point to gather participant feedback from a Minimally Viable Product (“MVP”). We have much to learn before we start writing marketplace code.

Triton One, the marketplace Operator, will collect all bids and provide an updated, anonymized order book for all participants to see. Bidding is open until the end of the current epoch. After the epoch ends, the Operator will announce the winners and the Floor Price.

The Operator will then arrange for the reserved bandwidth to be delivered through the Cascade network.

Cascade Network Operation

Auction winners will receive a private endpoint on the Triton One Cascade Network for transaction delivery. The current version acts as a relay-only service without retries or simulations. Simulations will be added soon:tm: Transactions will be relayed through staked validators within the selected region.

If a sender requires a simulation, they should perform simulations using the simulateTransaction() RPC method before sendTransaction(). The sendTransaction() RPC request should include skipPreflight: true for the TX to be relayed through staked validators. See our tips on Sending TXs for more details.

Excess packets above the bandwidth limit will be dropped. There are no credits for unused bandwidth or carry-overs to the next period—use it or lose it.

AML Compliance

The Cascade Marketplace and network activity are all off-chain. Triton One and other participants must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) laws. Therefore, Cascade Marketplace will require contracts and identity verification (KYB/KYC) when money changes hands (Buyers, Resellers, Validators, and some Stakeholders). This is a B2B marketplace, so AML compliance should be familiar to all participants.

Glossary

Buyers/Bidders

They want reserved bandwidth for their applications, trading bots, etc.

Resellers

They want dedicated bandwidth for their clients or services. E.g., other RPC services.

Operator

Triton runs the marketplace and relays traffic according to the results of the bandwidth auctions.

Validator

Operates a Solana validator.

Stakeholder

Delegates stake to a Validator.

Bid Price

The price offered by a winning bidder. The minimum Bid Price is 0.1 SOL per 100 PPS per Epoch.

Floor Price

The minimum winning Bid Price in a competitive auction is the Floor Price. All winning bidders pay the Floor Price, even if their Bid Price is higher.

Region

Bidders will indicate which region they would like to use. The available areas are Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America.

Last Update: 2024-05-22